A Game Of Thrones Movie? Not As Crazy As It Sounds

Regardless of what anyone may have told you, there’s not a long-term plan for Game Of Thrones. The last two books aren’t finished. HBO can’t decide on exactly how many seasons of the mega-hit show it wants to do. In short, it’s a disorganized mess of brilliance that will need to be untangled over the next five years, and if author George RR Martin is to be believed, that mess might include one or more movies.

Because of how wide the scope gets in his novels and how insanely expensive the series already is to shoot (episodes reportedly cost about $6 million per), Martin thinks there’s a real possibility all involved may want to use the type of gigantic budget Hollywood could offer to formally end the program. Here’s his exact quote, as per The Hollywood Reporter…

"It all depends on how long the main series runs. Do we run for seven years? Do we run for eight? Do we run for 10? The books get bigger and bigger (in scope). It might need a feature to tie things up, something with a feature budget, like $100 million for two hours. Those dragons get real big, you know."

The audience for Game of Thrones is massive, especially considering such a large percentage of HBO’s viewers watch the show on On Demand, HBO Go or in some other way that’s outside a conventional time slot situation. Altogether, it’s likely one of the few programs that could turn a splashy $100 million epic into a tidy little profit, HBO would need to see a cut of that money in some way or another. Considering exposure and brand recognition count a whole lot in the premium cable game, however, even a guaranteed paycheck probably wouldn’t be enough for executives to let Jon Snow and company depart. But there is another alternative.

Over the past several years, Martin has written a series of prequels to Game Of Thrones. They’re set almost one hundred years before the current events we’re watching, but they allegedly tie in directly as far as lineage. Once Game Of Thrones is concluded, it wouldn’t be a shock to see those turned into another television show or a movie. In fact, the author hyped that possibility this week too, though it probably annoyed some fans who wish he'd stop worrying about the future and start finishing his damn books.

Internet users waste a lot of time worrying about weird things. Near the top of the list is how quickly or how slowly George RR Martin is writing. The Game Of Thrones scribe isn’t exactly quick when it comes to churning out new editions of his beloved fantasy series. In fact, he’s only written a total of 5 books in the series since they debuted in 1996, and with two more to go, hardcore fans are freaked out HBO might either pass up Martin or have to sit around and wait on him to get his act together.

The fourth season of Game Of Thrones is scheduled to premiere on HBO on April 6. For a reminder of where we’re at on the series, you can watch this super informative 25 minute catch-up below…